I get a delivery of seafood once per week from Real Good Fish, and for two weeks in a row, it’s been halibut. Rather than just cook the filets, I decided to go in a different direction, burgers. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a burger even if it’s not a hamburger. Salmon is very popular for burgers, but halibut works too. The trick with fish burgers, much like fish cakes, is to minimize the filler.

I came across a brilliant technique from Melissa Trainer, who wrote that she learned it from chef Jordan Mackey. The trick is to use pureed raw fish as the binder, rather than bread crumbs or egg. That’s pretty much it. The burgers hold together beautifully. Halibut is lean though, so it’s important not to overcook it. You can check the temperature if you like and when it’s 145 degrees it’s done, but I just cook it until it’s firm.

I like my burger served on a bun, but you could also serve it on a bed of greens. It does benefit from a slathering of tartar sauce. Use any recipe for tartar sauce that you like. Tartar sauce is just mayo, lemon juice and some chopped capers and pickle relish or chopped cornichons. If you’re not planning to use tartar sauce but just mayo, double the salt in the burgers.

Halibut Burgers

Serves 4

Ingredients

1 pound halibut, skin and bones removed

1/4 – 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

Pinch sugar

2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

1 teaspoon finely grated lemon peel

1 Tablespoon minced fresh dill

Oil for grilling

Instructions

Roughly dice the halibut into about 1/2 inch pieces. Sprinkle the diced halibut with salt and sugar and let rest for 10 minutes. Remove about 1/3 of the fish and process in a food processor until smooth. Add the puree back to the remaining fish along with the mustard, lemon peel and dill and stir until well combined then form 4 patties.

Heat a grill pan or skillet and lightly oil it. When hot, add the burgers and cook for 3 minutes over medium high heat. Flip the burgers and cook until cooked through but still moist, about 3 minutes. Serve on a bun with tartar sauce, arugula and a slice of tomato.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: My thanks to Real Good Fish for providing me with the halibut used in creating this recipe.

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Microwave safe cover expands to 3.5 inches but collapses to 1 inch for easy storage; Use thumbs to easy “pop up” and press to flatten

Durable ProductThis little 250-watt workhorse comes in handy when a full-size food processor is unnecessary. The 3-cup work bowl is just right for making pesto or a salad dressing, and two receptacles in the lid have pinholes for one or two oils to stream into the bowl while the processor is blending a perfect emulsion. It’s also ideal for chopping and grinding. Pressing the “chop” button deploys the sharp edge of Cuisinart’s patented reversible blade to chop onions, herbs, or bread crumbs. Pressing the “grind” button whirls the blade in the other direction so its blunt side can grind nuts, coffee beans, or cheese. Compact at just 9 inches high and lightweight (it has a plastic body), the Mini Prep Plus can be tucked away in a cabinet, and the little spatula accompanying it goes into a drawer. It carries an 18-month warranty against defects. The plastic work bowl and lid are dishwasher-safe, but the stainless-steel blade should be hand washed to protect its edges. –Fred Brack

Chocolate and coconut are always a delicious combination. Sometimes, they meed in the form of a chocolate-dipped coconut cookie and coconut is the star. Other times, coconut is added to chocolate for texture and the chocolate takes center stage. In these Coconut Macaroon Brownies, both of these flavors share the spotlight: fudgy chocolate brownies are packed with shredded coconut and topped with a crisp-chewy coconut macaroon topping.

To make these Coconut Macaroon Brownies, you’re going to start with my recipe for Fudgy One Bowl Brownies and add chocolate chips and shredded coconut to the batter. Chocolate chips are an addition that I usually make, just for even more chocolate, and the shredded coconut adds a nice texture and subtle coconut flavor to the mix.

The brownie batter is divided into individual muffin cups – I recommend lining them with paper liners – before being baked. You could bake the brownies in a square pan (following the directions for the original brownie recipe), if desired, but I love the look of these individual brownies and feel they have the perfect edge-to-center ratio for this recipe. The brownies are baked, then topped with a coconut macaroon mixture and baked again until the coconut is set and lightly browned. You don’t want to bake it until it looks completely dry, as you want the macaroon to be chewy in the middle (like the brownies) and crisp on the top.

The brownies are ready to eat as soon as they have cooled completely and they can be stored in an airtight container until you’re ready to serve them. They should be crisp, chewy, coconutty and very chocolaty. The somewhat generous portion size makes them a little bit decadent – and you can also share them by cutting them in half, if you don’t think you can eat the whole thing by yourself.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
Prepare the brownie batter as directed by the brownie recipe (without adding extra chocolate chips or nuts, as suggested by the original recipe), then add in 1/2 cup chocolate chips to the batter, along with 2/3 cup shredded coconut.
Divide batter evenly into prepared pan.
Bake for about 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached.

While brownies are baking, prepare the topping. In a medium bowl, whisk together confectioners’ sugar, shredded coconut, egg whites, vanilla and salt, until ingredients are all moist and well-combined.
When brownies are ready, pull them out of the oven and quickly divide the coconut mixture on top of them, gently spreading the mixture with a knife so that it covers (or mostly covers) the brownies.
Return brownies to the oven for 8-10 minutes, or until coconut is lightly browned.
Allow brownies to cool completely before serving.

The pleasure of fresh cherries is fleeting, so while there may be nothing better than eating them soon after they are picked, if you want to enjoy them year round, canning is the answer. This year I decided to make bourbon cherries from the wonderfully sweet cherries kindly sent to me by the Northwest Cherry Growers as part of the “Canbassador” program. They are terrific in cocktails but also spooned over vanilla ice cream.

This year I finally bit the bullet and bought a canner, it’s a small one, it holds 7 pint jars which is just fine for me. Over the years I’ve accumulated a number of canning accoutrement—the jar lifter, the jar funnel and the lid lifter. I use a variety of jars, but am particularly fond of the Ball® Sharing Jars I received from Ball® Home Canning. Designed for gifting, the company that produces them makes a donation to Feeding America for every package purchased (up to $150k).

This year I used a recipe from Ball but I’ve expanded the recipe instructions to include all the steps you need to take. I’ve also replaced the brandy in their recipe with bourbon. I recommend choosing a delicious bourbon that isn’t too hot and has vanilla, spice and caramel flavors to complement the cherries.

The sharing jars are on the right, a classic Ball jar is on the left

Bourbon Cherries – adapted from Ball Canning

Makes about 6 or 7 pints

Ingredients

1 cup sugar

1 cup water

1/2 cup lemon juice

6 pounds cherries, washed, stemmed and pitted

1 1/4 cups bourbon

Instructions

Get your jars, lids and band rims ready. Wash pint canning jars with soapy water. Rinse the jars throughly and place in a canner or very large pot. Fill the pot with water, cover and bring to a boil. Meanwhile combine the sugar, water and lemon juice in a pot large enough to hold all of the cherries. Bring the mixture to a boil and stir to make sure the sugar is fully disolved. Add the cherries. When heated through add take the pot off the stove and add the bourbon.

Lift the jars out of the water, emptying the water back into the pot as you go. Ladle the cherry mixture into the hot jars, leaving 1/2 inch headroom. Wipe the rims and twist the rim band until “fingertip” tight. Place the jars careully into the boiling waterthen boil for 10 minutes. Turn off the heat and allow the jars to rest for 5 minutes in the canner. Remove the jars and allow to rest to 12 hours before testing to make sure the jars are properly sealed. Store for up to one year.

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